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The Type of Writer I Want To Be The term “social portraiture” turned up in something I read recently and it has stayed in my mind ever since. I think of Tom Wolfe, for example, and his Bonfire of the Vanities. What is most fascinating to me is human behavior in the context of our society. I guess I always felt that way, ...

Shanghai Diary Ever hear the expression “Shanghai’ed or Chaing Kai’d”? The correct expression is “Shanghai’d.” It was coined to describe what happened when drunken sailors in the port of Shanghai passed out, were kidnapped, thrown into the brig of a merchant ship, and put into slave labor– more or less.
I sort of got Shanghai’d for a day ...

Blowing Smoke in Shanghai NEWS FLASH! There are 1.9 billion Chinese and they all smoke! Buy PM, MO, LO and any other cigarette stock you can find. They smoke in office buildings, restaurants, stores, bathrooms. I’m getting some of those surgical masks but not to protect me from the chicken flu…to save me from second hand ...

Hong Kong Diary Well…now it’s 2 am and, despite a wonderful dinner with wine, a hot steam bath and a massage my eyes are as open as a Starbucks before the morning rush hour. Yesterday we visited the bird market where old men stroll with their pet birds in cages and chat to catch up. They ...